Jeff Buckley died before I'd ever heard him. I got his posthumous album Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk out of the record library, and really enjoyed it, but wasn't prepared for how blown away I'd be by Grace, his only proper album.
And it's certainly in my top ten albums of all time. We kick off with three Buckley compositions, Mojo Pin, Grace and Last Goodbye, all of which showcase Buckley's glorious voice, his ear for a solid rock tune, and the myriad of influences (especially Led Zeppelin and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) that brought him to this point. The cover of Jim Shelton's Lilac Wine is perhaps the least effective song on the album, a lovely interpretation of an uninspiring song, but So Real brings the album back to life before the Leonard Cohen cover, Hallelujah, just Buckley and his guitar, often acclaimed as the finest interpretation of Cohen's song, (although Buckley was more inspired by John Cale's cover). This is followed by my highlight of the album, the utterly beautiful Lover, You Should've Come Over. The third cover on the album is Benjamin Britten's Corpus Christi Carol, a real test for Buckley's voice, which he is equal to. The album ends with Eternal Life, an upbeat rocker, and the very low key Dream Brother, a fitting end to a great album of songs.
Who knows what Buckley might have produced had he lived (he'd be 57 this year)?
Untold greatness? Or perhaps he had just one great album in him? Let's return to this question when I review Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk!
5* - a masterful debut album, certainly my favourite of the 1990s
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